Sequel to No Escape
by Pantheon1
Summary: With a raving approval from the author of No Escape I have writing and posted a sequel written by me.


Preed slammed his fists against the heave metal doors. They made a low "boom" with every impact. "NO! NO! STITH! NO MY LOVE! NO!" Preed sank down to his knees against the door sobbing uncontrollably. Akima, still shocked, sprinted back towards the bridge. "Korso! Open the Door-"  
Then she heard it. The horrific sequence of clicks, slams and retracting parts. The Valkyrie had undocked from the colony and left Stith behind. Suddenly the Ion Drive kicked in, and they were blasted away from the colony, and Stith. Akima stopped dead in her tracks. "NNNNOOOO!"  
  
There was an eerie silence about the ship. The bulkheads rattled slightly as the ship moved. Bodies canvassed the entire ship. Most were medical personnel, and a few wore army uniforms. Black and red blotches marked the walls in random spots, but mostly above the bodies of the personnel on the ship. These splotches acting as gravestones for the 30 people on board. Blood drooled down off the walls and sloshed around in the halls, moving and sliding with each turn and jut of the ship.   
The bridge was a small but modest room at the front of the Aries. Bloody, three toed footprints led down the hall and into the bridge, where there they became more frequent, almost blocking out the metallic gray of the floor. There were two padded metal chairs at the front of the bridge. One was empty, with a hole in the back. Its former occupant was the floor clutching the large bloody hole in his chest. The copilot filled the other chair. He was still strapped in his chair, head leaning to the right at a very steep angle. His neck was broken, and bleeding onto his army B.D.U's.  
Off to the left of the chairs, and next to the entrance was the pilots berth. The bloody prints led in there also. The door hung on one hinge, a large dent shown in the center of the heavy metal door. All the bunks were full. The first one to the right was almost bursting with ammunition and magazines for small arms and various rifles. The second bunk below the first held two different piles of weapons. One was a pile of small pistols, knives and other weapons for defense. The second pile was that of large and bulky rifles, machine guns and automatic guns. There were only 6 of them, but their dull metallic color and green straps took up the majority of the bunk. The third bunk on the top, which was across the room from the other two, had only three items on it. The first was a large black metal frame. I had several pouches and clips on the side and front, much like the A.L.I.C.E packs that the other soldiers were wearing. The item next to it was large and black also. Its features were obscured by the flat black color of the metal, but from its shape and relatively large size could only be a chain gun. It had two square objects jutting out from the sides on the back, the handle and trigger placed squarely between them, and a large handle in the front for holding up the large gun. At the front was a large circular barrel, consisting of s 10 smaller barrels which rotated at high speeds while in use. Next to that was a large cylinder, about 4 feet long, with 3 rockets lying next to it. It could only be an RPG. It had only one handle and that was at the middle with the trigger and eyesight. Unlike the others, this weapon was a cornucopia of green shades, denoting camouflage.   
The fourth and final bunk was filled also, but not with weapons of death and destruction. No, this bunk was filled with the only warm and breathing body on the entire ship. Stith. Stith lay in the bunk, legs hugged up to her sides, staring at the wall only inches from her face. Her right arm had a large white bandage what was spotted in the center with her blood. Her clothes were a mess also. Large spots and drops of human blood laced every inch of her body, turning her cloths from the orange and brown that they were, to the dark red of blood. The once calm, beautiful and innocent yellow eyes of Stith had changed drastically. They stared at the wall with a narrow squint. They seemed to be teaming cesspools of hate and distain. Slowly, Stith started to rub the Ion Rifle in her arms, fingering the trigger and smiling for the first time in a long time. Her reviled look was centered on 5 bloodied pictures taped to the wall. They were pictures of Cale, Akima, Gune, Preed and Korso.  
In the background the bridge started to go wild with sounds, sirens and lights. And from the center console came a dull male computer voice. "Ship Found...Ship Found...Ship Found..."  
  
It had been 48 hours since they left the colony...and Stith. Akima still couldn't comprehend it. She walked through the cargo bay and up the stairs to the bridge. It was lit up as usual, but there was emptiness, a lack of completion that could only be filled by Stith. Korso sat on the upper level, maneuvering the Valkyrie through the asteroid belt surrounding the now alien system. Akima walked up behind him, but he didn't move. Akima raised her hand into the air... and backhanded him across the face! Korso tumbled in a flail of arms and legs out of the chair and away from the controls. The Valkyrie lurched to the right as the controls were left to the forces acting on the ship. Akima quickly grabbed the controls and heaved the ship back to its original coarse and set the autopilot. "What the hell was that!" Yelled Korso as he got up. A small cut oozed blood on his left cheek.   
"That?" Shouted Akima. "That was nothing compared to what you have done!" Akima was getting increasingly louder.   
"What I did?" Screamed Korso. "What I did was save our asses!" Now Korso was just as loud as Akima. "If I had waited any longer we would all be spare parts to a bunch of shit canned robots! I was out for the life of everyone on this ship-"  
"THEN WHY IS STITH DEAD!" Akima pointed to the empty chair in back of her. By now there were tears streaming down her face and she was screaming hoarsely. "Save the crew! You have killed us all!" Korso stared blankly at Akima. The blood seemed to drain from his face, and a look of self-realization and dread overcame him. "I...I...just-" KABOOM! The Valkyrie shuddered and heaved with the sudden explosion. Alarms sounded lights flashed warnings and damage reports from all over the ship. Panels exploded into flames, and fire shot up from all over the bridge. Korso and Akima scattered to different sections of the bridge, grabbing extinguishers and working on the large fires ravaging the bridge.  
"What the hell happened Akima?" Came Korso from across the bridge.  
"I don't know captain." Akima looked into a small screen. "There's a ship off to port. Looks like a small scout class ship. I don't know what its doing out here, but it looks as if it fired at us." Akima looked over to Korso, and met him dead in the eyes. "Were dead in space."  
  
"God Dam it!" Screeched Stith. She slammed her fist into the panel, and it exploded in a shower of hot white sparks. The frame of the ship shook from the stress, not being a ship made to go out this far. The blast that crippled the Valkyrie took up almost all of the power left on the ship and in its cells. Now she was unable to dock with the Valkyrie. "Piece of shit!" She screamed again. With her left hand she ripped of a panel and started to mess with the wires and buttons on the inside of the console. With a sudden lunge, the Aries started to position itself to dock.   
Suddenly, something popped into Stith's head. It was an odd thought, something that never occurred to her until this point. What am I doing. These are my friends. I can't kill- And then they returned. The screams flooded into her head with effortless ease. Those screams, those painful, angry, agony ridden screams rang in her head. The screams had followed her from the lost colony, urging her to do what she was about to. But these screams were different, these were the heartbroken screams of defiance. Stith snapped her eyes shut with the sudden rush of pain. She clasped her hands around her ears, and fell back onto the floor, rolling around in the fiery hell that raged on in her head.   
Stith suddenly snapped back into consciousness. Her vision finally cleared, and there was Cale, staring her back in the face.   
"Stith...are...okay?" Cale spoke but she could barely understand him, the blood still rushed in her ears.   
"What?" She said weakly.  
"Are you okay?" Cale said again.  
"No." Said Stith. "I need...I need" Tears welled up in her eyes.  
"Need what Stith" Came Cale. He inched himself closer to her beak, straining to hear what she was saying.  
"I need.." She whispered. "YOUR BLOOD!" The pistol seemed to come out of nowhere. Stith slammed it into the side of his head and put her finger on the trigger.  
"Stith no!" said Cale in a surprised but calm voice. Stith moved her face closer to his. "Oh YES!" The shot rang out and shattered the silence on the bridge. The laser ripped its way through his right temple, searing the brain matter and blood in between, and exploding with a splatter of blood and flesh from his left temple. Cale's eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed back onto the floor. Stith grabbed the chair arm and pulled herself up. Turning to Cale's limp body she smiled.   
Turning her attention to the more important matter, she looked out the bridge window. The Valkyrie was only feet away from the Aries. Its hull was blackened and marred by the laser blast to the main engines. Slowly she turned and went to her room. Sitting on the bunk she remover her pants and shirt. Getting up off the bed, she grabbed a pair of fatigues and placed them over her body.  
Finishing with her dressing, she turned her attention to the three bunks in the room. At the first bunk she methodically put each needed clip into its pouch and strap on her uniform. With the pile gone, she kneeled down to the second bunk. With one hand she reached into the pile of small arms and pulled out five small and silver pistols. With great thought, she placed one behind her back at the waist, two on straps under her arms and one at each of her ankles. At the other end of the bunk she picked up two rifles and carried them over to the third and final bunk. Stith grabbed the large frame that she had fitted for herself. It fit perfectly over her body and curved for her breasts and shoulders. Reaching up she grabbed the black chain gun and clipped it to the right side of the frame. On the left she placed the battery pack for the large gun. She then picked up the two rifles and placed the straps over her shoulders  
She left the bridge, walking straight through the large puddle of Cale's blood that now seeped its way around the bridge. As she headed to the docking bay, the only sound that could heard was the plop, plop, plop of blood on her feet.  
  
The Valkyrie was silent. Except for the occasional spattering of sparks and venting of steam, there was no sign of life on the Valkyrie. The long corridor leading from the docking clamps was about 20 feet long, and dimly lit. At the end of the corridor were a stack of boxes and crates from the last colony they visited. Behind one, on the right hid Preed, while on the left hid Korso. In between the two obstacles was Akima, her hands resting on the triggers of a large laser cannon tripod. Meanwhile, Gune was in his room running the cameras and defense system in case everything went to hell.  
Nothing had been heard from the other ship since the last gunshot, but that was 5 minutes ago. Silently in Akima's mind, she ran all the scenarios of what could of happened, but knew that Cale was dead. Tears welled up in her eyes. CLINK! The doors at the other end snapped into motion, snapping Akima out of her train of thought. Steam began to leak out of the opening, and soon stopped. The doors continued to open up, releasing more and more steam as they opened wider and wider. Suddenly the steam stopped, and cleared instantly from the room. A camouflaged figure stepped onto the Valkyrie.   
It didn't take an idiot ot recognize those long legs, and large muscular build.   
"Its Stith" Whispered Akima. Korso's eyes went wide in surprise. A thought registered in both Korso's and Akima's mind at the same moment. Their gaze shot over to Preed, who was locked on to the figure at the end of the hall, tears gushing down his face.   
"Preed No!" Exclaimed Korso. Preed didn't register. He threw his gun to the floor and sprinted down the hall. His foot steps echoed on the metal floor, getting fainter and fainter. Preed ran up to Stith and slammed himself into her and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh Stith my love, you don't know how happy I am to see you. I-" Preed looked up to Stith. She was glaring down at him, her yellow eyes pulsating with energy. "Stith?..."  
"I'm sorry." Said Stith in a quiet voice. The chain gun came around in her arms and was pinned directly to his chest. Stith eased her face closer to his, so she could whisper in his ear and still see his face. "For Us."  
The green blasts rang out in a chain of short, very short blasts. Green light blinked wildly in the corridor. Blood from Preed splattered the walls and even reached the end of the hall, spraying her in the face. Preed's torso was cut in half instantaneously. His legs toppled back to the ground, as the rest of his body was propelled 5 feet down the hall. The wur of the chain gun ceased, and the only noticeable sound was Preed's limbs twitching uncontrollably on the floor. In the grips of shear horror, Akima pulled the trigger on the tripod and let a shot loose in the direction of Stith. The beam of intense orange energy rocketed down the hall toward Stith. Stith nimbly sidestepped to the right and the beam of energy exploded in a fiery blaze where she stood.   
Stith got back up, and grunted. She brought the chain gun around and aimed it at the both of them. Korso acted on instinct, and bolted from the safety of his cover. He placed his shoulder directly into Akima and drove her down as a shower of sparks and green beams erupted where she stood. Korso landed on top of her and got up quickly. Picking up his other side arm, he hoped over the boxes and pulled back the trigger. His shots were well placed, one grazed the batter pack on her left, one her right arm, and the other turned her chain gun into a burning black mass. Stith dropped the gun from the frame as she screamed in pain from the burns on her hand.   
"Akima go!" Yelled Korso. The tripod burst into a huge yellow and orange explosion! Shards of metal flew through the air, and sparks of hot searing metal showered down all over the deck of the ship. Akima covered her head as the wave of fire swept over her, and past her, carrying with it a tremendous wave of heat. Korso lay across the corridor from her, also covering himself from the explosion. Akima got up and looked over the boxes at Stith. Some how, Stith had swung the rifle off her shoulder and fired with one hand at the tripod. She now held the steaming barrel towards them, blood cascading down the grip from the open wounds on her hand. Korso got up and walked into plain view of Stith. "Akima go." Said Korso. "I think we need to talk"  
Forcing herself to move her legs, Akima rose to her feet and sprinted down the cargo bay and disappeared out of view.  
  
Korso slowly made his way down the long corridor, hoping not to scare Stith into blowing his brains out the back of his ass. Korso stopped 5 feet from Stith, a safe but acceptable distance to talk...or plead for ones life.  
"So, what is it Stith?" Asked Korso with a hint of ignorance.   
"I have come to kill you!" Stith said flat out. "You have given me no reason to let you live. You left her down there, on that shit hole planet to die, to rot! Now the only way to cease her pain, to settle her soul, is KILL YOU!" Stith took one large step towards Korso. He took one step back. A maniacal smile came across her face as she watched Korso squirm, watched him reel at the confusion of the truth. It was going to be sweet killing Korso.  
"What have I done!" Korso said, this time more agitated.   
"You tired to kill me!-"  
"I did nothing of the sort!"  
"YES YOU DID!" Screamed Stith. "You never liked Stith, never cared for her. So when she asked you to go down to that hellhole you said yes, knowing this was your chance to kill her. You failed!" Stith took another step forward. "Stith died on that planet, but only half of her died, the side that valued all of your lives, and thought of you as her friends. Her last moments in this world before I came were ones of loneliness and heartbreak you bastard!" Another step. "And as she died, I was born out of anger, hate and torment. You should have heard her screams you son of a bitch. It would make me cry if I didn't know that you were going to die for causing her this pain, for leaving her to die, and its these very screams that tell me to kill you!"  
Korso reeled around. "I didn't try to kill you Stith." He said calmly. "I only tried to get you the fuck out of my way!" Korso's voice was steadily getting more angered. "I never liked you, never wanted you around. I don't know what possessed me to keep you around, and take up need space. The only reason I can see that I didn't rip your heart out or sell you for money is because I wanted to get in your pants!" Stith snapped!  
Stith grabbed Korso around the neck with her right hand. And carelessly flung him to the side into the hull of the ship. Korso landed with a deep thud that echoed through the hall. He stopped moving. Stith quickly walked up to him and went to grab him. Korso leaped up at her and caught her in the back of the leg, knocking her off her balance. Korso took advantage of this. He pushed himself up and unleashed a chain of punches and kicks to her chin, stomach and face. In a pure rage Korso missed Stith's leg. It caught him in the stomach, snapping his ribs and sending him tumbling down the hall. Knowing she now had the upper hand, Stith got to her feet and marched down the hall.   
She grabbed the back of his head, and lifted him to his knees. Using her left hand she tightly gripped his bloodied and red face.  
Suddenly, they slowly started up in her mind, echoing through her entire body in ripples of paralyzing pain. This was something different. The screams didn't edge her on like before, now they screamed a constant NO! Stith began to shake violently, try to keep her grasp on Korso, and reality. But it didn't work, and Stith succumb to the mind ripping screams. Korso thumped to the floor, coughing and hacking after taking a fresh breath. Stith gripped the side of her head, covering her ears, trying with all her might to stop the screams. She fell to one knee with a clank. "Stop It! Stop It! Stop It!" She screamed with everything she had. It didn't stop.   
  
Rolling out of harms way, Korso regained his breath and got up. He stood for a second to asses the situation. He didn't know what the hell was going on. Stith comes back and refers to herself as two different people, is trying to kill everybody, and now she was kneeling on the floor telling something he couldn't see to stop it. Then the opportunistic side of Korso's personality came into play, and he started to walk over Stith.  
As Korso walked he switched his gun on, and put it in his leg holster. He kneeled down next to Stith. Her yellow eyes were now empty of all the hate and resentment she held towards the crew. Korso looked Stith in the eyes and began to talk.  
"Stith its ok, lets get you-" Stith's hand came up between them and she thrust it into Korso's chest. Korso shuddered as he felt bones snap, cartilage tear, and blood gush from the hole in his chest. Shaking uncontrollably, he looked up at Stith. She was grinning, all of her white teeth bared, almost on the brink of laughing. Her eyes, once seemingly gentle, were now overflowing with hate! "For Us!" He felt Stith move her hand inside his chest. She grabbed his spine, and wrapped her hand around it. In one fluid motion she twisted her hand, and snapped a 6 inch section of his spine out and pulled her hand away.  
Korso immediately slumped against her, his face now white from lack of blood, and a look of utter confusion, but at the same time shear terror and horror. That was a priceless look. Stith took a deep and hearty breath. Death was heavy in the air, and she loved it. She turned and took the rifle off her shoulder. Looking around she began to laugh at the death, the bodies of Preed and Korso, and the layer of blood that seemed to coat everything in her view. She was enjoying this.  
  
It had been 20 minutes since Korso told Akima to run, and leave him to die. Akima was huddled up in her bunk, her gun pinned to the door incase Stith found her. She wanted Cale. Akima forced her eyes shut to hold back the tears, knowing that she would never see Cale again. Her only hope was to get to Gune and save what she could of the ship, and themselves.   
Clink...Clink...Clink...Akima's heart stopped. Her mind convulsed with thoughts. "Gune? Is that you?" She said sheepishly. Picking up the rifle she ran across the room and opened the door half way to look out. The world exploded into a halo of white heat and fire. The metal next to her head exploded out of existence as she fell to the floor. Knowing it had to be Stith, Akima fell back in her room and opened fire on the hall. Large holes opened up where ever she shot, releasing steam, water and other chemicals into the corridor. Akima snuck up on the door, and peered out to where Stith was. She was gone.   
Wasting no time Akima sprinted in the other direction down the hall. Reaching her end she turned right, taking the shortest way to the bridge. The next minute was a blur of lefts, rights, stairs, sealed door that never seemed to open up fast enough. Suddenly Akima saw something that caught her eye. Stopping she realized she was in the cargo bay. Floating in front of her was the bright blue ship that Cale had stolen. It seemed like so long ago, in a much, much happier place. Looking over the ship, Akima came to the conclusion that if the shit really hit the fan, this was her only way home.  
CRASH! A green laser bolt drilled into the Drej ship at its base. The small ship wobbled uncontrollably and proceeded to disappear into oblivion. Driven by fear alone Akima spun around on her heels and opened fire. Stith, caught by surprise, danced around the hull, avoiding a shot here, ducking there. With a distinct wet thud one of Akima's shots landed on Stith's right arm. "AAAARRRRGGGHHH!" Stith screeched. Stith grabbed at the wound and looked up at Stith. "That was a BAD idea bitch!" Stith raised her huge rifle and pulled the trigger. Akima's gun burst in two in her hands and sent her flying back onto the stairs. Her clothes were smoldering from the heat of the explosion. Turning up the stairs, Akima fled, barely missing the barrage of lasers that rained down on where she was.  
The stairs were a mere formality before arriving on the charred and dead bridge. Akima made her way around the front and up the stairs to the main steering column. The panel she needed was half lit and covered in soot. Typing rapidly Akima began the long process of opening the bay doors, but first she had to bypass the power grid and-  
Clank...Clank...Clank...Akima stopped what she was doing. The footsteps were to heavy to be Gune's, and there was no one else left alive. It had to be Stith. She could hear the deep, ragged and angry breaths Stith took, and could feel her hot breath. Slowly, Akima turned from the control panel to face certain doom.   
Stith was standing no more then 3 feet from her, a rifle in one hand, a piston in the other, and the normally green camouflage was dark with blood. Both her arms, her left leg and her face was bleeding from a cut or gunshot wound. Stith's yellow eyes cut through the dark like fire, and bore a hole in Akima's head. There was anger on Stith's face like that of which Akima had never seen. And yet, there was a sense of pain, of longing.   
"What's going on Stith?" Akima asked in a worried tone.  
"I am here to kill all of you. For her, For Us." Stith responded in a dull tone.  
"For who?" Akima said.  
"For me, the Stith born from heartbreak, from pain, anguish and a broken heart. You killed the Stith I knew, and now I must kill you. Its only fair, and if you don't agree, tough shit!"  
"But Stith," pleaded Akima, "I thought I was a friend, a-"  
"How dare you! You are a MURDERER!" Stith slammed a knee into Akima's gut as hard as she could, cracking most of her ribs. Akima doubled over at the waist, coughing out blood and saliva. Not letting up, Stith pulled Akima by the hair until she was standing. Once done, she delivered a stiff uppercut and more to the side of her face and stomach. Akima dropped to the floor, crying and oozing blood from her face. Akima used her elbows to prop herself up against the wall and looked up at Stith. "Do what you must Stith."  
Stith dropped the rifle, and raised the pistol she was carrying in her other hand. The gun was inches from her forehead. Akima could see Stith's finger on the trigger, tighten, inching closer and closer to the base of the gun. Akima closed her eyes, hoping it would be quick and painless. What seemed like hours passed and she wasn't dead yet. Akima pinched and eye open and looked up. The gun was trembling slightly in her hand. She could see the strain in her fingers, and arms. Stith's face was clenched with effort, trying to pull the trigger. The gun was now shaking wildly in her hand, like the entire world was falling apart around her. God what has happened to her? thought Akima.  
  
She didn't know what was happening. She wanted, needed to pull the trigger to complete her needed revenge. But something was stopping her. Why cant I do this? she thought. I need to, have to. Its the only way Stith will ever be happy. This is not a friend or someone I can trust. She tried to kill me! Then they came. The screams of pain and now protest welled up in her head, and released their fury upon her entire body.   
The white hot pain spread like a fire in a dry field. Her blood seemed to turn to pure fire and shot through her veins like some savage animal, numbing her entire body in a heavy blanket of anguish. Now the screams tore at the back of her head, building and building until it seemed her head would burst. Stith, barely able to move, dropped her gun and pushed her hands against her ears. It was unbearable. She could feel the blood running down from her ears and her face as she toppled back onto the floor. Trying to find some safe place from the torture Stith curled up into a little ball on the floor of the bridge screaming. "Stop it! Please, please Stop it! STOP IT!"  
  
Fighting the pain in her sides, and the shock of the past few moments, Akima got her self to her knees and crawled over to where Stith lay. Stith was in a ball on the metal floor, rocking back and fourth and whaling uncontrollably. Akima gently reached down and removed Stith's hand from her ears. Her face was no longer filled with hate and the lust for death. Now it was like a little child who fell and hurt itself. It was the Stith she loved. Stith motioned to speak. Akima leaned in. "Help me..." came a weak and meager voice. Akima leaned down and hugged Stith tight as Stith began to sob hysterically again.  
  
It was almost a week later now. The ship was in running order, but still months from being what it was before the incident. Gune was little help with structural repair, but had completely solved the computer errors, leaving Akima to do all the heavy lifting. The good thing was that whatever they did have could be taken from the Aries and used on the Valkyrie, instead of spending money on new parts.   
Akima walked into the now repaired medical bay. Stith was lying in the center table, the one from the most critical patients. For the whole week Stith had laid there staring at the ceiling. Sometimes a night Akima would have to get up and comfort her when she would start to cry again. Akima sat next to Stith.   
"How are you doing Stith?" Akima asked in a calm tone.  
"Fine." Stith said in the same tone. "I owe you my life, and I can never repay you Akima. Thank you." Akima pulled up a stool to the other side of the bed so she could see Stith's face.   
"Stith you owe me nothing." Said Akima in a much lighter tone. "But you could do one thing for me."  
"What?" Inquired Stith.  
"Tell me what happened to you."  
"I don't know what happened to me down there." Started Stith. "After I was left behind, I tried to get help. On my way to the comm station I began to hear vicious screams in the back of my head that made me pass out. The last ones I remember happened just after I contacted help. The next time I woke up it was like looking through another persons eyes. I had no control, no ability to stop anything. Oh the things that she did to those innocent people. I can never forget." Tears came to Stith's eyes. "Then once she killed Korso and Preed then went after you, I tried to stop it some how. All I could do was scream, to yell and try to distract her. But it was you Akima that truly helped me. You are the only friend I have now, and seeing her beat you like that gave me the power to stop it." The tears began to flood from her eyes, and Akima's. They embraced each other and Akima rocked Stith slowly as Stith cried: "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"  
  
The End 


End file.
